LiaI woke up with a pounding headache. The liquor I drank last night had gone right through me, making me act more carefree than I usually did. Normally, I was a more reserved person but last night… I feel like I made a fool of myself.But I had a great time with my pack. I blushed thinking about dancing with the guys, my body pressed against theirs. Parts of their body had started to respond… and I was almost disappointed that nothing came of it.Groaning, I buried my bright red face in the soft pillow below me. How was I going to get through this?I was convinced that the next morning I was going to be embarrassed when I saw them but when I headed downstairs, no one said a thing to me.“Hey guys,” I greeted, blinking when they all turned to me, looking rose for wear. “Are you all okay?”“Depends on what you mean by okay,” Jesse stated, voice flat.“Jesse, even you drank too much?” I asked, gasping softly. “I expected it from say Rain and Colby but not you.”He smirked. “Blame it on
LiaI was getting closer and closer to starting college soon. It was going to be such a change and I was nervous. What were Simone and I going to do when we headed onto campus that first day? It was beyond anything we had ever attended before.Imagine going from our medium-sized high school to a large local college campus. But I was looking forward to this next step.Whenever I brought it up around the guys, I did notice they tensed a little. It was as if they didn’t want to see me go to college or were nervous about me being on the campus surrounded by all those alphas and betas.There were omegas too, but why would they be worried about omegas?I wasn’t going to have it if they started in with their jealousy again. One part of me said at least they weren’t getting jealous of one another, but I didn’t want to see any of it! It was stressful enough starting college and I didn’t need added stress.But, life is full of stressors. No matter how much you try to avoid stress, something will
RainI can’t believe I’m graduating today.How can that even be possible? It doesn’t seem possible. Something is wrong with me because I’m not as excited as I thought I would be. I’m more nervous, wondering what the hell I’m going to do with my life.None of us had gotten any responses from the scouts. I knew something like this could take time, but it didn’t help my anxiety.What if I didn’t get on any team? Rugby was all I knew. Matt liked to keep pointing out that we had our backup plans but I wanted to respond that I didn’t want my backup plan. I wanted my first choice!It was immature of me to think this so I didn’t say anything.I should be focused on graduation, on this next phase of my life. Look at Lia who had graduated and was thrilled with starting college soon.Speaking of college, the thought of her being there with all those alphas was enough to make me growl with frustration. I didn’t want to think of her on campus with older alphas but what was I going to do? Prevent h
LiaIt was my first day of college and the guys were hovering. I looked over at Colby who leaned against the doorframe, frowning deeply.Try as I might, I couldn’t ignore him. He was persistent, standing there and gazing at me with this worried expression on his face. Then the other guys showed up, all of them looking at me.“Are you okay?”“Why wouldn’t I be?” I shot back, stuffing my water bottle into the side pocket of my bag.He sighed softly, obviously exasperated by my comment, but I didn’t care. I was frustrated with this line of questioning. Why did they even have to question me about this anyway?It was my first day of college. I wanted to enjoy it, to experience my first day on campus without worrying about my future mates being so overprotective and super involved in my life. They should calm down and let me live my life.This is what they got to do!“Because it’s your first day,” he said. “At college. Without us.”“I went to high school without you.”Colby frowned. “But As
LiaAdjusting to college was something that took a little time. But, I was determined to enjoy my newfound freedom on the college campus.Today was no different. Simone picked me up and together we drove to school. We were in the same major so the two of us were constantly together. I don’t know what motivated Simone to become a teacher, but sometimes I feared she was going along with it simply because I was.It would break my heart to know she wasn’t as taken with it as I was. But I didn’t ask, not wanting to rock the boat.Simone and I didn’t have the last class on our schedule together so we split up. I stopped by the library before heading to the car. Alex happened to bump into me as I was leaving, wanting to give me the book I let him borrow.It was a completely innocent thing, but I knew they were going to read more into it. I could hear it in their voices and actual words!When I glanced over Alex’s shoulder, I saw the expression on Colby’s face. Even Rain looked annoyed, much
LiaAfter that awkward pick-up from college, the guys had been on their best behavior. I was pleased to see that they weren’t falling into bad behavior again. It would’ve been a shame, knowing that we had come so far.But then things got complicated again. I was in the process of going off my suppressants and getting a new one. With the old ones still in my system, I was going to be all right for the time being but I needed the new ones.It was all I could think about as I got closer and closer to the time I might start showing symptoms of my heat. What if I broke into heat at school? It wasn’t unheard of and still happens, but it is a rarity in our modern society.Most times people were on suspensions successfully for years until they decided to go off them and not the day before then.However, my medication had been discontinued, leading me to find a new one. I had waited, desperate to get the new medication they subscribed me but then it was late.The first day it was late I was fi
JesseI could sense a fight coming on. The guys were all rigid in their seats, trying to pretend that the sound of Lia lying there, squirming in her seat wasn’t getting to us. For myself, I was throbbing, trying to ignore the blood rushing to my groin.Something had to be done and if I was going to be the first person to say it, then so be it. Someone had too.“We need to figure out what we are going to do,” I muttered, voice gruff.The rain cleared his throat. “I assumed we were all going to… you know… help her through her heat.”“Yes, but who will go first?” Matt muttered.“I mean, there’s no reason we have to go one at a time…” Colby said, causing me to sigh.I rolled my eyes. “Do you realize how complicated you are all making this be? We’ll take turns helping us through her heat. Right now she is going through the thick of it so she is going to need more than one of us—if not all of us.”“I think you guys are all handsome, but I don’t swing that way.”Everyone turned to Rain, glari
RainListening to Lia take Jesse’s knot was one thing, but having her squirming around in my lap as he fucked her without abandon was another thing entirely. I stifled a groan, my erection throbbing by this point. My manhood was so hard it was almost painful.The minutes ticked by after Jesse knotted Lia. She calmed down, becoming a little more lucid. But she was quiet, perhaps embarrassed by what was happening.I wish she wasn’t because honestly, she had never been more beautiful.“Rain,” Jesse muttered after his knot had swelled down.I glanced at Lia who had that glazed-over look in her eyes again. Swallowing, I lifted her effortlessly again and turned her around so we were face to face.“Hi,” I said, grinning despite the need to plow into her.She blinked slowly, a drunken giggle escaping her.“Hi, Rain.”The way she said my name just now was enough to make me come right then and there. Not that I was going to because that would be embarrassing.“Rain,” Jesse snapped, making me bli
LiaI stared at the ceiling for the third morning in a row. My heart was racing again, for no real reason.My stomach felt weird. Not sick, just... off. I didn’t want to think about what that could mean.But I couldn’t ignore it anymore.I called Simone.She answered, yawning. “You know it’s not even eight, right?”“I think I might be pregnant,” I said, fast.Silence.Then, “Wow. Good morning to you, too.”“I’m serious.”“Wait—what? Are you sure?”“No. That’s the thing.” I sat up and put a hand on my stomach. “I’ve just been feeling weird. Sore. Nauseous some mornings. I smell different from myself. Isn’t that a thing?”Simone made a weird noise. “Yeah, that’s a thing.”“And I’ve been eating weird, too. And I got really mad at Matt yesterday because he was breathing too loudly. Then I cried because I couldn’t find my hairbrush. That’s not normal.”“To be fair, Matt does breathe like a bulldozer.”“Simone—”“Okay, okay. I’m focused now. Lia… oh wow. You really might be.”“I don’t want
JesseOut of all the mates in our group, I was most aware. It wasn’t like I wanted to mock the others, but the fact of the matter was, I was the type of person to be aware of what was going on with everyone.If something was off, I was going to notice it.Now, with Rain, this didn’t count because he wore his heart on his sleeve. He always made it so obvious when something was wrong, and couldn’t hide his emotions even if he tried. If he did try, then he ended up being more obvious than usual!The others depended. Colby and Matt could hide their emotions, but not from me. Lia also depended, while Michael did a pretty good job of hiding it unless it had to do with Gabi and the kids. If it had to do with one of them, then he showed how upset he was because they were his family.Not that we weren’t, but they were his mate as well as children. It was a little different.Today I was out with Lia. The two of us were going for a walk, trying to enjoy some of the fresh air. I did offer the oth
MattThe past few days have been pretty crazy. I have been trying to deal with healing and then working as a coach while also spending time with my mate and pack. Everything was much better than it had been, especially with my former pack behind bars.I couldn’t stand them. Anytime I thought of them, I got upset, but right now, they were the last thing I wanted to talk about. What I wanted to focus on was the fact that Lia and I had made our way to her room, kissing passionately after going out to see a movie together.Honestly, I couldn’t even remember what the movie was. I remember the people being all romantic on screen and acting like idiots. This meant it had to be a romantic comedy. Was it obvious I wasn’t a big fan of romantic comedies? Because I wasn’t. They were stupid and a waste of time b but Lia seemed to like them.My favorite type of movie to see with Lia was a horror movie because then she got scared and cuddled up close to me. Who wouldn’t want to cuddle up with Lia wh
LiaI’m in the backyard, ready to start practicing. I have to always be ready. This is why I try to carve time for myself to practice magic. Everyone around here is always practicing their skills because you never know when something is going to happen.After the crazy time we had, I wanted to be ready for anything. How was I to know when a coven seeking revenge or some dragon shifters who had been sleeping“Okay… let’s not get rusty,” I murmured, staring down at the candle placed in the center of a circle I’d drawn with chalk. “Just a little warm-up. Easy.”“Talking to yourself again?” Rain’s voice floated over from the porch, teasing as ever.I didn’t look up. “It’s called focus. You should try it sometime.”“I’m very focused,” he said, strolling over with that infuriating grin. “I’m focusing on how intensely you’re trying to intimidate a candle.”“It’s not intimidation. It’s discipline.” I took a slow breath, letting the magic rise like a tide inside me. “Now hush.”“Shutting up,”
LiaNow that I’ve spent all this time with my mates, I wanted to spend time as a whole with everyone in the pack. This was why I let myself into the house my brother now lived in. See I had a key and he had a key to the place I had with my own mates. We were part of a pack so if we didn’t want to let the other in we would say something ahead of time.I found Michael in the kitchen, his head buried in the fridge like he was on a mission. “Hey,” I said, leaning against the doorframe.He grunted in acknowledgment, pulling out a container of leftover pasta and giving it a suspicious sniff. “Who made this? You?”“Gabi,” I said.He immediately popped the lid and started digging in cold with a fork. “Then I trust it.”I made a face. “Cold pasta?”“Don’t judge me. I’m a man of simple pleasures.” He took another bite, then finally looked at me properly. “What’s up?”“I was wondering…” I hesitated, then sighed. Why was this suddenly awkward?Michael raised an eyebrow. “You okay? You look like y
MattI found her on the porch, curled under a blanket like a cozy little woodland creature, mug in hand, book in lap. Honestly? Not fair how good she looked doing absolutely nothing.“Hey,” I said, leaning on the railing and trying to sound casual. Which meant I sounded like I was overthinking breathing.She glanced up, smiling. “Hey. Why do you look like you’re about to give a presentation in front of the school board?”“Because I’m brave,” I muttered. “And because I came to ask if you wanted to go for a walk. In the forest.”Her smile widened. “A walk?”“Yeah. Just us. Trees. Quiet. No one is trying to set the microwave on fire.”She sat up, already pulling off the blanket. “Of course I’ll go. I love when you get all woodsy and mysterious.”“I am always woodsy and mysterious.”“You spilled coffee on your shirt this morning and said, ‘The mug betrayed me.’”“It did.”She stood, and I thought that was that—until we heard it.Crunch.A very loud, very obvious crunch from behind the scr
ColbyEveryone was doing their own thing to bond with Lia. I decided that I was just going to cook dinner for the whole group, and then I would sneak her some dessert. Great for us to have a private dessert. Something chocolatey, maybe. She always smiled more with chocolate.“I’m making dinner tonight,” I announced, tossing my keys into the dish by the door and heading straight for the kitchen.Rain popped his head around the corner, eyes lighting up. “Ooh! Need a sous chef?”I didn’t even hesitate. “Not.”“What?!”Rain gasped like I’d just insulted his entire bloodline. “Banned?! That’s so harsh!”I had to stifle a chuckle even though he was just being his usual self. That was Rain for you. But he would be fine after a while. He just had to get over his little pouting session.Lia appeared behind him, crossing her arms. “Rain, last time you helped, the smoke alarm had to be reset twice.”“That was an accident!” Rain argued. “The stove was faulty!”“No,” Matt said from the couch witho
JesseAfter learning that Rain had a successful date, I decided that it was my turn to take Lia out. I had something in mind. It was a bit of an odd date—the two of us were going to play chess. Or I was going to invite her out to play chess.Chess was an awesome game that I loved. I tried to teach some of my friends the game, but only Michael was interested and now he had kids. Colby just didn’t want to waste time on it, Matt had no patience and Rain was well… Rain.If Rain ever came to me and said that he wanted to learn chess, I think I might die from shock.“I’m taking you out,” I said.She blinked. “Okay… where?”“The park,” I replied, dropping my hands into my pockets.Her head tilted slightly. “Just the park?”I nodded. “Yeah. We’re going to learn how to play chess.”Lia stared at me. “Chess?”“Chess.”“Like… with the little horses and castles and tiny guys in helmets?”“They’re knights and rooks and pawns,” I corrected, lips twitching at the corners. “But yes. That chess.”Ther
RainI had a plan and the plan was to do something romantic with Lia. It didn’t matter if it led to something more, but I wanted the two of us to spend some quality time together. The two of us hadn’t spent any time together with it just being us.None of the guys had been able to spend any quality time with her either because of all the shit going on in our lives.This wasn’t going to happen any longer.I had racked my brain, trying to think of something to do, and then I realized that I was going to surprise Lia with a private picnic in a meadow that was nearby.So I decided to go to her door to talk with her, letting her know that I was taking her out on a date.Well, if she wanted to go out on a date. She was perfectly capable of saying no. and could say no. I didn’t care if she did or not.No, that was a lie. I wanted her to say yes, but if she didn’t want to go, then this was fine too. Lia was her person and could decide what she wanted to do.“I’m taking you out tomorrow,” I sa